The "street price" on such strips for Coaguchek XS or Hemosense InRatio runs about $4.50 to $7 each and dropping. Prescription supply companies may charge $12 or so, with insurance companies bringing it down to something closer to market price or subjecting the patient to only a modest copay. A typical insurance-approved supply is 12 every 90 days.
Since I prefer to test more often than every 7 to 10 days (i.e., every 5 to 7) then I supplement the insurance-provided supply with ones bought off the shelf. Cliawaived.com was where I got my last extra batch, 48 InRatio strips for just under $250.
The meters and the strips are supposed to be by prescription only, so sometimes the supply from one source or another dries up, perhaps as the manufacturer clamps down. You can do a google search for "coaguchek xs test strips" and find a long list of links.
Be aware that the strips are dated. If they have not been in the pipeline for very long then you may have a year to use them. With any supplier you would have to take some level of faith that the strips have been kept in recommended conditions. I am not familiar with the Coaguchek, but the InRatio has its own build-in QC which is supposed to alert if the strip fails. I have not seen that happen as of yet.
After two years of unprecedented medical expenses, part of what I am trying to achieve is to get at least a year or so of minimal medical expense, as close to the $0 per year before PE. Of course I'll never get all the way down, but if you use the tools to keep yourself in range and take generic meds then it's still possible to get the costs down to below the level of the average old guy of my age.

lancets can be bought at any drugstore for 100 for $2, a stick-er or jabbing device (if not included in the kit) goes for about $8.

One way or another, the costs involved - insured or out of pocket - are a pittance compared to staying tied to those frequent clinic visits at $140 each.

Thanks, the insurance pays for 1 test per week, so it's 26 strips for $48, or about 1.85 per. Compared to the $15 coinsurance I pay, it's better.

Chris

I would really like to be doing home testing, but haven't figured out the costs yet.

The way my insurance works, my blood draws are completely free ... not even a co-pay.

The would pay for the INR tester, but I haven't been able to get a straight answer about supplies for the machine. If I have to pay for those (even $50 bucks a pop) then I'm paying money for what I get now for free.

But I'm really thinking the added convenience and peace-of-mind would be worth it.

Depending on the nuances of your insurance, you may still be able to use a home meter at no or low cost. Philips (formerly Ray-tel Cardiac) has dual programs or a mixture of the two. You can buy the meter (with or without the insurance) or they'll retain ownership as part of a program where they monitor your INR. In the latter option, you report your INR to them. In some way they apprise your doctor (by fax and phone I believe) if your INR goes out of range. Such a program may be within your insurance, in-network or out, with or without co-pay.
www.inrselftest.com
Insurance approval moves slowly in getting one of the meters. Expect a month or more. I had a round-and-round with the insurance company over the supplies. They denied a claim. Though it was not a huge sum of money involved, I looked up the letter of the policy, wrote the appeal letter, and got the denial reversed.

United Healthcare - my 2009 insurance - paid 100% of the clinic tests. Current Aetna only pays 80%, leaving me with about $15. Either way, the ability to test weekly is worth $100 a year. Who knows what will happen as insurance changes however.

I will give Aetna credit that approval was extremely fast, about a week.

The coagucheck xs also has the in built quality system and also checks the strip (not quite sure how) to see if it is in date, and won't do the test unless the strip is in date

I just received my Coagucheck direct from Roche - someone posted the info here a little while ago. My stint in the hospital took care of my deductible for the year so the machine and strips are covered for 100% for the rest of the year. After January I will have to pay $45 per test until my deductible is met again. (The lab charges $60). The machine came with 12 strips and 100 lancets. It also came with a trainer . Her day job is running a Coagulation clinic for the hospital so she came with tons of great info. She suggested that since the strips are dated pretty far out (the ones I have now expire in a year) that I can "bank" some up when I order more. I am really excited to have this now!